Spare 0.17.0

See whether an agent is mid-task

So you don't close an agent in the middle of a reply, Spare now shows what each one is doing.

• Claude Code sessions show Working or Waiting for you, read from the status Claude Code keeps for itself.
• Codex and other agents show Active or Quiet, estimated from their CPU use in the last 10 seconds. An agent waiting on a slow model response can still look Quiet.

You'll see it on agent rows, on each session, and as a warning in the stop review if the agent is working. The warning updates live while you decide. Stop requests from the spare command show the same warning in the approval banner, and spare list and spare show include it (activity in --json).

Thanks to @Elev_30 for the idea.

Spare 0.16.0

Fits beside the notch

On a MacBook with no other display, the notch leaves little room in the menu bar, and macOS hides icons that don't fit. If you show several readings next to the gauge, Spare now shows just the first one while only the laptop screen is in use, and shows them all again when you connect a display.

To always show every reading, turn off Just the first when only the laptop screen is in use in the gear menu → Show in Menu Bar.

Spare 0.15.1

Opens at login

Spare now turns on launch at login the first time you open this version from Applications, so it's back in your menu bar after a restart. If you'd rather it didn't, turn off Launch at login in the gear menu and it stays off.

Spare 0.15.0

Numbers in your menu bar

Spare can now show CPU, GPU, memory, and startup-disk percentages next to its gauge, each as a small label over the number. Turn on any of them from the gear menu → Show in Menu Bar. All are off by default, so nothing changes until you choose.

GPU is the overall utilization macOS reports, not a per-app reading. Startup disk counts space macOS can free on its own as available, the way Finder does.

Also

• hidd, the macOS service for keyboards, mice, and trackpads, is now labeled as part of macOS.

Spare 0.14.1

macOS's own processes now show up

Spare can now measure macOS processes that run outside your account, like WindowServer, mds_stores, logd, coreaudiod, and fseventsd. macOS doesn't let apps measure these directly, so Spare reads them through the built-in ps tool. They appear as macOS rows with a plain explanation, and Spare never offers to stop them. kernel_task still can't be shown.

23 more processes explained

Spare now describes XProtect, duetexpertd, mDNSResponder, VTDecoderXPCService, fseventsd, apsd, powerd, AMPDevicesAgent, mobileassetd, cfprefsd, searchpartyd, spindump, identityservicesd, accountsd, contactsd, sysmond, replayd, loginwindow, photolibraryd, coreduetd, suggestd, imagent, and callservicesd in plain language. Each has a full page at spareformac.com/processes.

Spare 0.14.0

The spare command

Spare now includes a command-line tool, so you or your AI coding agent can check your Mac from Terminal.

• spare status, spare list, spare show <name>, spare idle, spare leftovers, and spare recap, all with --json
• spare quit <name> and spare leftovers --close show the request in Spare's panel and wait for you to approve or decline. Nothing closes without you.
• Homebrew installs spare for you. Otherwise choose Install Command Line Tool… from the gear menu.
• The README has a prompt you can paste into Claude Code or Codex so your agent knows how to use it.

Fixes

• Close background sessions is now offered only for browsers. Apps like Docker run extra copies of themselves as services, which were mistaken for leftover sessions.

Spare 0.13.0

Know what to close, and why

• Where sessions came from. Separate browser sessions now say what opened them: an AI agent ("Opened by Claude · api"), a dev tool, an app, or a background daemon that outlived its agent ("Kept open in the background by agent-browser"). Close N background sessions… ends them all after one review.
• What dev servers are. Development rows show the command behind them ("next dev", "http.server 8765", "clipatra serve, slack-mcp-server +4"), and details link to Open localhost:PORT.
• Not used lately. Apps you haven't used in 2+ hours that use real memory are marked in the list, with a reviewed Quit or Quit all.
• Growing memory. Any app whose memory keeps climbing gets an orange trend arrow.
• Docker. Docker's VM explains its memory limit and links to Docker Desktop.

Requires an Apple-silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Spare 0.12.2

• Sort an app's processes by memory, CPU, or type.
• Know why something can't be ended. Locked rows show a lock; click it to see why (the app needs that process, so quit the whole app instead).
• Separate sessions. Extra browser sessions, like Chrome for Testing windows opened by Playwright or an AI agent, are labeled and can be ended on their own.
• Clearer confirmation after ending a process.

Requires an Apple-silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Spare 0.12.1

When Open Chrome's Task Manager needs Accessibility permission, Spare now shows an Open Accessibility Settings button that goes straight to the right page. As soon as you turn Spare on there, Chrome's Task Manager opens automatically, even if Spare's window closed in the meantime.

Requires an Apple-silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

Spare 0.12.0

Find the heavy Chrome tab in one click

Chrome is the only app that knows which tab each of its processes runs. In Spare's Inside Google Chrome section, Open Chrome's Task Manager jumps straight to it, where you can sort by memory and end the tab that's using the most. The first time, macOS asks you to allow Spare under Accessibility; Spare only uses it to choose that menu item.

Spare also reads Chrome's Memory Saver setting and suggests turning it on, or up to Maximum, with a link to Chrome's Performance settings.

Requires an Apple-silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple.